


These Are the Circumstances

by plasticineking



Category: Twin Peaks
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-10 01:42:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5564137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plasticineking/pseuds/plasticineking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Person A is dead Person B sees the dead</p>
            </blockquote>





	These Are the Circumstances

**These Are the Circumstances**

* * *

Prompt: Person A is dead Person B sees the dead

* * *

 

Dale Cooper had seen many things as an FBI Special Agent, some were good - worthy of mentioning to Diane in pleasant conversation - some were so awful that he had no choice but to blacken Diane’s sweet ignorance with the truths of the world. He would never admit that the latter felt he had someone to shoulder the burden of what he had seen, and that gave him relief.

 

Yet of all the things he had seen, he was left almost speechless at the sight of a young woman. He had seen bodies ripped apart, he had witnessed what he believed to be divine intervention, he had mangled dreams that he believed held the truth to a case he had been working on - all of these left him rambling and functioning. It took the strikingly beautiful but subdued features of a woman walking towards him with such purpose to actually cause him to trail off. Bewitched, he would later refer to it as. 

 

The Great Northern hotel was abnormally quiet, the lobby was empty save for Cooper and he sat alone with his tape recorder going over the events of the first few days of his time at Twin Peaks. She walked as though she floated, breezing easily towards him, a look that held mysteries that he was sure she wasn’t even aware about herself. 

 

“I believe that I will be here for longer than I anticipated, Diane. Laura Palmer seems to be someone that had mo--” the tape recorder was forgotten in his hand, pressing stop automatically as he stood. There was a terrifying moment - a moment where he was a teenager again, awkward and too optimistic for the world - where he believed she would saunter straight past him, leaving him in awe and alone. Fortunately, fate was smiling upon him and she stopped short enough that he could smell the perfume she was wearing. Captivating.

 

“Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Dale Cooper,” bringing his hand out towards them, he was surprised by the chill of her soft skin as she shook his hand.

 

“Audrey Horne,” her voice was sweet and it held all the enigma that she outwardly bled, “may I sit with you?” 

 

“Miss Horne, unless I am mistaken in my guess, your owner is Benjamin Horne, the owner of this fine establishment, so I suppose you can sit wherever you choose,” he let go of her hand pointing towards the soft chair next to his, “I’d also like to add it would be my pleasure.” 

 

Audrey obtained none of her arresting looks from her father, Cooper was aware of that instantly when he took in her confident smile. At least, if she did, he was well aware that the reactions she stirred up in him her father did not share  _ that _ ability.

 

“You’re here investigating Laura Palmer’s death?” her question needed no answer, the tone of her voice let the agent know she was already well aware.

 

“I am, indeed,” pausing, “were you a friend of hers?” His question earned a little chuckle, turning her head down to her lap, shaking her head.

 

“No, no…” licking her lips she met his eyes again, keeping his attention, “I was a year older than her, but she used to help my brother, Johnny, I always loved her for that.” Her honesty was startling to Cooper and he found himself smiling at her.

 

“That’s…” looking away briefly, he coughed, “thank you, Audrey.”

 

“I’m not really sure what for, but any time Special Agent Cooper,” something about the way she spoke was intimate, and his head shot up, “I have to go now, but if you ever need me… just wish really hard and you may get lucky.” She stood happily, walking past his chair allowing her hand to drop to his shoulder, brushing away as she moved further down the hallway.

 

“Remarkable,” Cooper muttered, his eyes tracing her as she turned a corner.

 

\--

 

Having informed Diane of the new character he met, he found himself interested in gathering more information. It was worrying to him, during the beginning of what was turning out to be a tough case, that he would allow himself to become distracted by someone so young, although he kept those worries to himself.

 

During a morning lull, he decided to ask Sheriff Truman about the businessman’s daughter, taking a sip of his black coffee he coughed.

 

“Harry, what can you tell me about Mr Horne’s daughter?” gently he tried to seem uncaring of the answer, but the surprise that showed on his new friend’s face caused a frown to form on his own face.

 

“I’m sorry, Coop, I just...didn’t expect that one,” the man seemed uncharacteristically - from however briefly Cooper knew him - uneasy.

 

Without really knowing what he was apologising for, Cooper offered a sincere, “I’m sorry, Harry…”

 

“No, it’s fine… I can’t imagine the two cases being connected in any way,” he answered honestly, and suddenly Cooper found himself speechless for the second time in as many days, “They weren’t close, Audrey and Laura, Audrey wasn’t close to anyone...but she was a good kid, everyone thought she’d end up here, you know?”

 

“W-why I mean… what happened?” He didn’t trust his words, couldn’t find the strength in him to say what he really wanted to  _ I met Audrey Horne last night and she looked every inch the alive young woman. _

 

“She was stabbed, a year ago, by a potential business partner of her father’s actually...” Harry looked down, “Laura was with her when she died, actually… held her hand. I don’t think Ben ever really recovered from that, and now Laura… she was like another daughter to him, and he lost her aswell.”

 

“I-I think I met Audrey last night,” Cooper couldn’t stop himself from saying aloud, much to the shock of Truman, “I might have… dreamt her, but as vividly as I have ever dreamed anything.”

 

“That’s a sick sense of humour you’ve got there, Coop,” Harry seemed a little offended as well as perplexed by Cooper’s statement, “I know you got a funny way of going about things, but ghosts?”

 

“I know, I’m… I think I need to head back to the hotel, send my tapes back,” standing quickly, he made a point of stopping before he exited the room, “I am sorry if I seemed insensitive.”

 

“Just don’t… bring it up to Mr Horne.”

 

\--

Pacing his hotel room, he debated for a while on what to do. He informed Diane calmly of the new development, all while conveying his utter confusion in the tone that laced his thoughtful words.

 

“Audrey,” he said aloud, feeling stupid for a moment, before closing his eyes and repeating in a whisper, “Audrey, please.”

 

There was a brief moment, a moment where he felt stupid, but as soon as that feeling took over it was pushed aside when he felt another presence in the room, as keenly as if he had opened the door and welcomed them there himself. 

 

“I’m so sorry,” her voice was soft and closer than he imagined, but he kept his eyes closed, even when her hand smoothed across his soft cheek, “I didn’t expect you to see me and when you did… how could I not?”

 

Eyes fluttering open, he let out a little gasp at the sight of her, still in the same clothes, still the exact same as he remembers her from the night before, “it is such a loss that these are the circumstances in which we meet, Audrey.”

 

“Yeah,” dropping her hand, she stayed close to him.

 

“Although these circumstances do pose some questions, for one, how come I can see you when nobody else can? And why?”

\--

 

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a while ago, and never posted it. It doesn't actually seem out of the realm of Twin Peaks of have something like this happen. I haven't really re-read over it, all mistakes are my own. Hope you enjoy!


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